I saw a comment on Facebook concerning the proposed single beer ordinance, and felt the need to address it here. The commenter wrote,
Support the panhandling and single beer ban ordinances . . . and consider avoiding downtown stores that do not support these. They have made their choice about who they want as cutomers.
I disagree with this statement 100%. Most likely the commenter is talking about the people at Jack’s Food Store near Main and Jefferson, who voiced their opposition to the ordinance at the City Council safety committee meeting. The folks at Jack’s may hold an opposing view to ours on this issue, but they are still our neighbors. Furthermore, Downtown is a better place because Jack’s is here. Need a roll of toilet paper or a Coke at 9:30 PM? In the Downtown core, you’re not gonna get it at a big-box grocery store, because there isn’t one. You’re not gonna get it at Walgreens, because they refuse to extend their hours past 8. When I moved down here, Jack’s closed at 9 on weekdays, but recognizing that Downtown was growing, they extended their hours to 10 and then to 11 to better serve their customer base.
In my opinion, we need to support Jack’s more than ever. You can’t blame them for opposing the ordinance – years and years of sales has convinced them that beer + bums = profit. Studies have shown that when single beer sales are banned, sales at convenience stores actually stay steady or increase, because shoppers are no longer afraid to walk to the store. But you can’t blame a store owner for being skeptical and trying to protect his business. I think we need to not only continue to shop at Jack’s, but make an effort to shop there more. Let’s show them that their business will thrive, even without the single beers. Let’s be kind to our neighbors.
Whew… okay… I realize this has turned into “the anti-panhandling blog” over the past week. Don’t worry, things are about to get back to normal. I’ll still mention the ordinances from time to time until the April 13 vote, but your regularly scheduled posts about Downtown events, tube tops, Brick, and whatever else I find to talk about are on their way back.
Oh and by the way, there’s a Woot-off going on today at Woot.com.
Today’s Fire Sale is Turbo Dog. Yukkkkkkkk. I’ll probably stay home this evening and try another tournament on PokerStars. If I get bored and bust out of the tourney early I may go out 9ish or so.